Councillors have hit out at a plan to extend the operating hours of Haverhill’s tip – but not the hours it is open to the public.

Suffolk County Council is proposing to operate the town’s household waste recycling centre in Chalkstone from 6am to 8pm every day .

But it is not proposing any changes to the opening hours to the public: 9am to 5pm in summer, and 9am to 4pm in winter.

The longer operating hours would allow trade waste to be deposited outside peak times which, the county council says, would reduce congestion.

The same plan is being proposed for all 11 waste centres owned by the county council.

But at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday, November 8, town councillors said the proposals were simply not appropriate for Haverhill’s tip.

"Tip should be moved"

Cllr Barry Robbins said: “It shouldn’t have been built there in the first place. There are houses all around, there are children – it’s a danger. To take a car in with household waste you’ve got to sit there while they crush it.”

Cllr John Burns said: “I have a problem with it opening at six o’clock in the morning because there are buildings right next to it now. My view is that they ought to grab this by the horns and say: ‘Let’s move this’.”

Councillors’ main concerns related to the nuisance the early and late opening hours would cause to residents who live near the tip, and the problem traffic that already plagues the area, with Cllr Burns saying: “I’m surprised there haven’t been any accidents.”

Nuisance to residents

Cllr Pat Hanlon pointed out the move would affect special needs adults who live near the site.

Cllr Quillon Fox added: “Lorries would have to go in at school times – it shouldn’t be allowed. If the public aren’t allowed in, it’s pointless. It’s over development of the site.”

Town clerk Colin Poole pointed out that Haverhill’s tip was different from other around Suffolk.

He said: “In Hadleigh it’s on an industrial site, in Sudbury it’s in the middle of nowhere up a country lane, but this is in the middle of houses.

“It’s a lovely idea to say: ‘We will do them all the same.’ But it ignores the fact that this is in the centre of town.”

The councillors agreed to submit a formal objection to Suffolk County Council.

Their objections include the over development of the site and the fact that it should be moved to another location, as well as the detrimental impact on nearby residents.7